Saturday, 26 November 2016

The story of The Woman Caught in Adultery appears in the Gospel of John Chapter 8 (NRSV) but there is a footnote which says that some sources place it near the end of the Gospel of John or after Luke 21:38.

The most likely placement for this story is in the Gospel of Luke.

I base my assessment on the nature of the story and its relationship to the parables which only appear in Luke: The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son.

Luke was a gentile and his Gospel is more inclusive than the other three.

Other differences in Luke make it the most compatible Gospel with our modern progressive values.

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

If by revealing the Satanism which is hidden in our music and entertainment I can save one person the pain and suffering which many of my generation have experienced then all my efforts will be worthwhile.

Monday, 21 November 2016

So they encourage you to sin in the hope that it will lead to death and hell.

Listen closely to the lyrics of rock songs.
Look closely at the images in rock videos.

You will find sin and death, even hell there.

Everything is going up in flames.

This is hell-fire.

Black. Darkness. Night.

All these things are evil.

They want you in the power of evil.

But the devil is not real.

He is just an illusion.

But their malice and sabotage remain.

We are cursed.

So unplug your earphones and throw away your C.D.s and D.V.D.s.

Pray to God.

And He will deliver you.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Sunday, 13 November 2016

My magazines and web sites are full of advertising for expensive pleasure cruises and holidays.

Is it any wonder that people in the Third World become radicalized when we ignore their plight and indulge in these luxuries.

We cannot expect to go on expensive holidays twice a year.

People are starving.
People are drowning in the sea.
Children are being kidnapped.

And don't tell me you're helping their economies.
That's a cop-out.
How many countries mired in poverty have you visited?
It is not their economies you are aiding.
You aid the rich countries where you can live in luxury.

It is time for us to realize that we cannot sustain our wealthy lifestyles in the face of poverty and war.

Thursday, 10 November 2016

If we stick stubbornly to the way things have always been done the Church will die. Because this way has been rejected.

What must we be prepared to change?

The Church's attitude towards sexuality must change.
We must develop a healthy attitude which views sex, including homosexual sex, as a natural part of God's good creation.

We must reinterpret the Bible as a narrative which utilises many styles including: myth, history, poetry, and metaphor.

We must reconcile scripture with the realities of science.

We must replace negative doctrines with positive ones.

We must free our minds from all hatred and prejudice.

But most of all we must open our hearts and give love to those who come. Because it is through love that we are saved.

"God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." 1 John 4:16b (NRSV)

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

"This was the guilt of your sister Sodom, she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49 (NRSV)

No mention of homosexuality.

And yet this sounds strangely familiar.

It describes the U.S.A..

Pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease.
Not aiding the poor and needy.

In the U.S.A. the minimum wage is so low that people have to work 3 and 4 jobs just to survive.

They have little unemployment relief and no public health system.

"Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride." Ezekiel 16:56 (NRSV)

And yet the religious right in the U.S.A. has made homosexuality a scapegoat. Claiming that the Bible condemns it.

I would suggest that they look to their own sins before pointing the finger at minority groups like gays and lesbians.

"I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes along with theirs." Ezekiel 16:53 (NRSV)

"As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state." Ezekiel 16:55 (NRSV)

This is the promise of God - to restore the fortunes of Sodom.

So don't make homosexuality a scapegoat based on Biblical injunctions.

It may not mean what you think.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Sunday, 6 November 2016

In the past the Church has preached good works to earn a place in Heaven.

And sins, especially sexual sins, will land you in hell forever.

This kept everyone in line and maintained the power of the Church.

But modern educated people would not be bullied in this way.

They left the Church in droves.

The child sexual abuse scandals were just the straw that broke the camel's back.

It is time for a New Reformation of the Church.

A reformation which returns to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus taught Love.

Love God and love your neighbour.

Forgiveness, mercy, compassion, charity, and peace.....

All these things derive from the teachings of Jesus.

The Church will have to give up its big stick - hell - and return to the original position of servant.

The Church is there to serve the community not to rule over it.

The Church is a servant not a master.

All too often the Church has assumed the position of master in order to gain power over humanity.

But Jesus said, "'whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave.'" Matthew 20: 26b,27 (NRSV)

So the Church must change.

It must move on from the Machiavellian carrot and stick religion of the past and preach the Gospel of Love.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.]

It would seem a simple thing to change the international tax laws to make multi-national corporations pay tax in the countries in which they make their profits.

This would not only benefit Third World countries but Western governments would be able to wipe out debt and finance their welfare commitments.

But the governments of the world are not doing anything.

Why is this?

Corruption.

The people in power in our world's governments have their fingers in the till. They benefit from tax evasion practises themselves and most are captive to the very corporations which would be affected by changes to the laws.

So what can we do?

We can vote for candidates who say they are committed to tax reform. But there is no guarantee that when they get elected they will do what they have promised.

Most of the politicians who are in power now have promised to reform corporate tax laws. But they are not doing it.

Letters pledging commitment to these reforms are not worth the paper they are written on.

Thursday, 3 November 2016

We are all caught in a gigantic Satanic conspiracy.
Our music, T.V., movies, literature, and sports have all been infiltrated by people who have sold their souls to the devil and practise black magic and Satanism.

They use the mass media to spread their evil web.

This is not immediately apparent because most of this is done on the unconscious level with backtracking and subliminal images.

Many of the people involved are famous rock stars, actors and directors, and sports men and women.

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

An Indian Guru once said to me, "When you join a religious group you may actually develop some problems you didn't have before."

I now realize that he was referring to sex.

Having grown up in the 1960s and 1970s I had quite a healthy, open-minded attitude to sex.

Since returning to the Church in 1989. however, I have discovered that the institution still harbors serious fears about sex, especially homosexual sex.

This is backed up by its inverse - modern Satanism - which infects much of our poular culture.

So we cop it from both sides.

The problem in the Christian Churches derives from the writings of St. Paul.

Paul came from a strict sect of ascetic Pharisees and his problems with sex came from there.

Jesus did not condemn sex.
He saved the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1-11).
And he forgave the sinful woman who annointed his feet (Luke 8:36-50).

He was known for eating with sinners and forgiving their sins.

So why is the Church still obsessed with sex?

There are numerous doctrines based on fear of sex:
Repression of the passions.
All is clouded by desire.
The body of death.
The enemy of the spirit.
Animal instincts.
Evolution from animals to angels.
Even bartering sex in exchange for heaven.

These theories are a blight on human philosophy and betray their origins in fear.

The time has come to leave them behind and move forward into a future of freedom.